Thursday, May 24, 2018

Some Mormons think Islam is a religion

Pointing to this history of Mormon persecution, in 2017, a group of scholars with expertise in Mormon history ...

Their interest in the rights of people of other faiths has also been traced to the views of the Mormon founder Joseph Smith, who put it this way: “If it has been demonstrated that I have been willing to die for a Mormon, I am bold to declare before Heaven that I am just as ready to die in defending the rights of a Presbyterian, a Baptist or a good man of any denomination.”

Yes, this obviously means any mainstream denomination of Christianity.

"Although Islam has a religious component, it is much more than a simple religious ideology," Hice wrote in his book titled "It's Now Or Never: A Call To Reclaim America." "It is a complete geo-political structure and, as such, does not deserve First Amendment protection." ...

"Most people think Islam is a religion, it’s not. It’s a totalitarian way of life with a religious component," he said. "But it’s much larger. It’s a geo-political system that has governmental, financial, military, legal and religious components. And it’s a totalitarian system that encompasses every aspect of life and it should not be protected [under U.S. law]."

Hice didn't stop there.

"This is not a tolerant, peaceful religion even though some Muslims are peaceful. Radical Muslims believe that Sharia is required by God and must be imposed worldwide," he said. "It’s a movement to take over the world by force. A global caliphate is the objective. That’s why Islam would not qualify for First Amendment protection since it’s a geopolitical system ... This is a huge thing to realize and I hope you do. This will impact our lives if we don’t get a handle on it."

He also doubted the compatibility of Islam and the Constitution.

"These things are in no way compatible with the U.S. Constitution ... Islam and the Constitution are oceans apart," Hice said. "It’s about controlling your behavior, when and where you can worship and legal issues. The number one threat is to our worldview and whether we chunk it for secularism or Islam."

Much of that is factually correct. Islam is a way of life, and religion (as Christians use the term) is just one component. Essentially all Moslem scholars say this.

The 1A says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". It was written to refer to Christian denominations, with the exercise of religion being things like praying in church on Sunday.

Moslems may believe that imposition of Sharia law is part of their exercise of religion, but that is not what the 1A is for.

Whether Islam is a movement to take over the world by force is debatable. Much of the Islamic world has certainly believed that for over a millennium. Even today, most or all of the 50+ Islamic countries do not respect religious minorities. Those countries behave as if Moslems intend to take over the world.